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Satellite Telemetry Reveals Longdistance Migration in the Asian

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Satellite Telemetry Reveals Longdistance Migration in the Asian Journal of Avian Biology 44: 001–010, 2013 doi: 10.1111/j.1600-048X.2013.00072.x © 2013 The Authors. Journal of Avian Biology © 2013 Nordic Society Oikos Subject Editor: Thoams Alerstam. Accepted 4 February 2013 Satellite telemetry reveals long-distance migration in the Asian great bustard Otis tarda dybowskii A. E. Kessler, N. Batbayar, T. Natsagdorj, D. Batsuur’ and A. T. Smith A. E. Kessler ([email protected]) and A. T. Smith, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State Univ., Tempe, AZ 85287, USA. – N. Batbayar, Dept of Microbiology and Plant Biology, Center for Spatial Analysis, Univ. of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, USA. – D. Batsuur’ and T. Natsagdorj, Inst. of Biology, Mongolian Academy of Sciences, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The range of the great bustard stretches 10 000 km across Eurasia, one of the largest ranges of any threatened species. While movement patterns of the western subspecies of great bustard are relatively well-understood, this is the first research to monitor the movements of the more endangered Asian subspecies of great bustard through telemetry and to link a breeding population of Asian great bustards to their wintering grounds. Using Argos/GPS platform transmitter terminals, we identified the annual movement patterns of three female great bustards captured at their breeding sites in northern Mongolia. The 4000 km round-trip migration we have recorded terminated at wintering grounds in Shaanxi, China. This route is twice as long as has previously been reported for great bustards, which are among the heaviest flying birds. The journey was accomplished in approximately two months each way, at ground velocities of 48–98 km h21, and incorporated multiple and variable stopover sites. On their wintering grounds these birds moved itinerantly across relatively large home ranges. Our findings confirm that migratory behavior in this species varies longitudinally. This variation may be attributable to longitudinal gradients in seasonality and severity of winter across Eurasia. The distance and duration of the migratory route taken by great bustards breeding in Mongolia, the crossing of an international border, the incorporation of many stopovers, and the use of a large wintering territory present challenges to the conservation of the Asian subspecies of great bustard in this rapidly changing part of the world. The range of the great bustard Otis tarda, a large lekking Able 1988). In general, migratory distance of great bustards bird, stretches from Manchuria to the Iberian Peninsula increases longitudinally across Europe from west to east, in across the grasslands and steppes of Eurasia (Isakov 1974, correspondence with severity of winter weather conditions Collar 1996). The two subspecies of great bustard, European and the degree of seasonality. A variety of short seasonal (O. t. tarda) and Asian (O. t. dybowskii) are geographically movements have been described in Spanish populations. isolated and differ in coloration of neck, wing coverts and These include post-breeding migrations by some males of rectrices, patterning on the back, and extent of specialized up to 196 km, the distance of which may be dependent on display plumes on the chin and neck (Ivanov et al. 1951, climatic and habitat variables (Alonso et al. 2001, 2009). Johnsgard 1991). While populations of the nominal subspe- Some females make autumn/winter movements of up to 110 cies are listed as Vulnerable (VU) worldwide by IUCN km (Alonso et al. 2000, Palacín et al. 2009); these migrations (BirdLife International 2012), only 1200–2200 Asian great are culturally transmitted and condition-dependent (Palacín bustards remain and this subspecies is Red-listed across its et al. 2011). range of Russian South Siberia, Mongolia and China Great bustards in central Europe tend to be sedentary, (Tseveenmyadag 2003, Goroshko 2008). Breeding grounds though short migrations by some populations, or some in Mongolia now represent the stronghold for this subspecies individuals in a population, have been observed (Bankovics (Alonso and Palacín 2010). Clarification of threats to the and Széll 2006). Irregular irruptive movements of up to subspecies and its natural history parameters, particularly in 650 km have been recorded for these populations in response Mongolia, is identified as a priority for its conservation to severe winter weather (Faragó 1990, Block 1996, Streich (Boldbaatar 1997, Chan and Goroshko 1998). et al. 2006). Detailed movement studies have not previously been Populations of European great bustards on the Lower undertaken on Asian great bustards, but data from radio and Volga River in Russia – the most easterly populations for satellite tracking of the European subspecies indicate that which tracking data are available – are mostly migratory. great bustards display a wide range of migratory behaviors, Females monitored via satellite telemetry traveled 1100 including both partial and differential migration (Terrill and km over the course of approximately one week to winter in EV-1 southeast Ukraine (Oparina et al. 2001, Watzke et al. 2001, of capture within 15–30 min. The PTT and harness repre- Khrustov 2009). sent approximately 2% of the females’ body weight, which Our group investigated the migratory behavior of Asian falls within the range of loads recommended by Kenward great bustards in north central Mongolia, approximately (2001). 4000 km east and 200 km south of the Volga populations. Each PTT transmitted GPS data ( 18 m accuracy) Given the severely continental climate of northern Mongo- by radio signal to the Argos system (maintained by CLS, lia, we predicted that distance migrated would be farther Toulouse, France) deployed on satellites. Duty cycles were than observed in European populations, in correspondence tailored to maximize the number of GPS locations transmit- with the longitudinal trends noted above. Here we present ted, with the length of day and strength of solar charge to the first data on complete annual movements of this subspe- the battery as limiting factors. Locations were recorded every cies: the long-distance round-trip migrations of three female two hours from 6:00 to 20:00 in spring and fall, from 4:00 Asian great bustards. to 22:00 in summer, and from 7:00 to 19:00 in winter. PTTs also reported speed of movement ( 1 km h21 accuracy at speeds 40 km h21). Upon receipt of a series of radio trans- Methods missions, the Argos system also estimates the location of the PTT using Doppler shift calculations, which are transferred Research was carried out on breeding populations of great in a separate data frame. bustards in east Khövsgöl Aimag, Mongolia (approximately A comparison of the movements of individual tagged 50°N, 101°E). Birds were found in valleys dominated by birds to each other, and to records of bustard migration at low-intensity agriculture (primarily summer wheat) and geographically similar locations, did not yield observations livestock herding by nomadic pastoralists. In this region of consistent delays by any individual. We also did not of forest-steppe, winters are severe, with average January observe correspondence between failure to breed and timing temperatures around 230°C (Inst. Geografii – Sibirskoe of spring arrival, which would indicate strong transmitter Otdelenie 1989). Nights and cold fronts in winter bring low effects (Barron et al. 2010). temperatures of 240 to 250°C. Routes were plotted and distances between points All work was carried out under permits issued by the calculated using ArcGIS 10. Minimum convex poly- Mongolian Ministry of Nature, Environment, and Tourism gons and kernel density estimations were created using (no. 4/730, 4/1813, 6/1650) and using methods approved Geospatial modelling environment (Beyer 2011). Departure by the Arizona State Univ. Institutional Animal Care and and arrival dates were determined primarily through scru- Use Committee (no. 07-924R). We captured one female in tiny of GPS-quality transmissions. We used Doppler-shift 2007 and two additional females in 2008 by spotlighting calculated locations when those allowed us to narrow the (Giesen et al. 1982, Seddon et al. 1999, Geyser 2000). range of dates of a bird’s arrival or departure in the absence Each bird was fitted with a solar-powered 70 g Argos/ of GPS-quality data. GPS platform transmitter terminal (‘PTT’) using a custom- fit backpack harness (modified from Osborne and Osborne 1998, Alonso et al. 2001). Stretchable silicone rope was Results threaded through bunched teflon ribbon to create a durable harness capable of adjusting to weight changes. The straps All three female birds were roughly the same weight at of the backpack cross at the breast, where they were stitched capture (Table 1). Birds no. 01 and no. 03 were captured to ensure that the harness did not shift location. Points at in the same valley; bird no. 02 was captured in a valley which the harness was threaded through the transmitter were 50 km distant. Data presented are of migratory movements stabilized with instant glue. Birds were released at the site from date of capture (Table 1) through 1 June 2009. Table 1. Migratory activity recorded for three female great bustards Otis tarda dybowskii captured in north central Mongolia and harnessed with Argos/GPS satellite transmitters. Mean ground Capture Distance Start End Duration Mean km Number of speed SD Bird ID date/weight Season flown (km) date date (days) flown d21 GPS points (km h21) n* 01 14 Jun 2007 fall 2007 1954 13–16 Oct 4–12 Dec 49–60 33–40 56 59 2 3 3400 g 01 - fall 2008 1852 17–19 Oct 4–6 Nov 16–20 93–116 19 59 6 5 02 27 Jun 2008 fall 2008 1836 12 Oct 31 Oct 19 97 56 87 10 3 3500 g 03 10 Jun 2008 fall 2008 2044 17 Oct 18–20 Dec 62–64 32–33 205 76 12 5 3600 g 01 spring 2008 1966 24–26 Mar 28–31 May 63–68 29–31 39 62 1 01 spring 2009 1932 12–14 Mar 1 Jun 79–81 24 80 NA – 02 spring 2009 1860 5 Apr 9–13 May 34–38 49–55 52 80 6 2 03 spring 2009 2100 5 Apr 9 Jun 65 32 323 60 9 8 *number of in-flight observations used to calculate mean flight velocity.
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